RELATED: Practice 1 results
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Erik Jones and David Ragan topped the charts in opening NASCAR XFINITY Series practice Thursday, a session halted early by lightning at Daytona International Speedway.
Jones drove JGR's No. 20 Toyota to a best lap of 193.353 mph around the 2.5-mile track. He was just .011 seconds ahead of teammate Ragan, who posted a 193.307 mph lap as he substitutes for NASCAR Next driver Matt Tifft, who is scheduled for surgery to remove a slow-growing brain tumor.
Another pair of teammates claimed the third and fourth spots on the leaderboard in preparation for Friday's Subway Firecracker 250 powered by Coca-Cola (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Richard Childress Racing's Ty Dillon was third in the No. 3 Chevrolet at 192.102 mph, just ahead of Brandon Jones' No. 33 Chevy (192.045 mph).
Justin Marks completed the top five at 192.004 mph in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet.
The first on-track opportunity for XFINITY Series teams was halted 28 minutes into a scheduled 55-minute session by lightning and thunderstorms in the area. The track ordered the grandstands evacuated and the spotters' stand cleared.
Thursday's second XFINITY Series practice was canceled due to rain at Daytona International Speedway. The drivers will get back on track at 2:10 p.m. ET on Friday for Coors Light Pole Qualifying (NBCSN).